Dare to Love
by Melon-Lemon-Peach
Summary: Percy Jackson just moved to Decatur, Alabama, a place not many people know about. Annabeth has lived there her entire life, but was always the nobody in the back of the cafeteria. So what happens when the two meet? All Mortal. Percabeth. Cover image is Viria's.
1. Chapter 1

**Me: Hola! I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians or any of that.**

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

The Move

"We're moving."

Probably the worst sentence you could ever say to a person. It meant saying goodbye to all of my friends, the people who knew me well, and the small old lady who lived next door with three cats.

But here I was, moving all the way to a town that nobody had ever heard of in a state that everyone made fun of on television. Decatur, Alabama. It was so small and spread out that you were pretty sure that everyone knew everyone else here, just like in every other small town you'd ever heard about. It probably would've sucked.

However, I was moving with my mother, who made the best blue cookies in the world. Yeah, I know, a bit weird that she makes blue cookies, right? Not really. You see, I used to have this step-dad named Gabe, who told my mom that there was no such thing as blue foods. Naturally, she made it her personal goal to prove him wrong. It was funny the first time she laid a batch of completely blue chocolate chip cookies on the counter in front of him.

Anyways, I was looking out the window of my mom's blue car and immediately noticed that there were only a few houses scattered around an area. My mom turned down a bumpy dirt and I took in the details of the few houses and trailers. One had an older woman with her hair pulled into a bun and a grandmotherly look that said 'I'm a kindhearted soul and I wouldn't hurt a fly'. Another house had a man asleep in a chair.

However, we just continued to pass the houses until it became fields.

Finally, we turned down an uneven driveway, which led to the most amazing farmhouse I'd seen yet. It was obviously painted a light beige recently, with a bright red door and a red roof. The car stopped and I had to remind myself to stop staring and get out.

After about thirty minutes of getting the stuff we managed to fit into the backseat of the car, unlocking the door and staring in amazement at the wondrous inside of the house, I decided I already loved it here. I mean, my room was blue! And to add to it, it already had a bunch of furniture. You see, this used to be my dad's house, before he died that is, and even though I can't say I remember ever being here, I loved every little bit of it. My room was blue and looked suspiciously like the ocean, had a king sized bed(with all it's stuff on it and lots of pillows), a dresser, and a desk that had a brand new laptop. I opened up my backpack and set up the few pictures of my old friends that I had, a few trinkets here and there, all my clothes in my closet and dresser, and voilá! Perfectamundo.

When I was finished with my room, I found my way to the kitchen to see what my mom was planning to cook. Of course, the moment I stepped into the kitchen, she was already hard at work over the stove making quesadilla's. Seeing as it was easy and simple, it was actually pretty nice for the first day here. And then my mom decided to make me work out in the fields with the person who technically could do anything he wanted with that half of the land.

So I went out there after I had finished off two quesadillas and I worked the rest of the day, learning how to harvest a crop and all that jazz that practically nobody has to do anymore. The dude was sorta fat, so it was pretty interesting trying to figure out how he did all the work in one day, but I figured he probably had a bunch of people doing the work for him.

Overall, it was a pretty interesting day. I just didn't think it could get even more interesting. But I am Percy Jackson, and I get all the surprises.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Hiya! Sorry I haven't updated in a while.(Please don't be mad at me!) I had a horrible case of writer's block. **

**Percy: *shrugs* Can I have a virtual cookie to make up for it?**

**Me: Sure. (::)**

**Percy: *with cookie in mouth* esh un won ush.**

**Me:*sigh* Basically said that I don't own him or the other PJATO characters.**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

I woke up to the glorious sound of my mother cooking breakfast. So I got up, got dressed, and practically fell down the stairs in my haste to reach the table. I was just in time to have a plate of blue pancakes with thick syrup oozing all over them set in front of me. I dug in, my mom laughing in the background. She put a hand on my shoulder.

"Slow down before you choke!" She exclaimed, her voice ringing with silent laughter. I smiled sheepishly.

"But ish sho gooph!" I said around another bite of pancake. She rolled her eyes, still laughing.

"Now, Percy, I want you to go meet the neighbors after school today." She said, her back turned to me.

"We have neighbors?" I asked, confused. My mom gave an exasperated huff.

"Yes, and you are going to introduce yourself." She said, placing her hands on her hips. I raised my hands up in defeat. "I'm going to, don't worry!"

The clock rang through the house signalling that it was time for me to leave. I grabbed my bag, hugged my mom, and ran out the door.

"See you later!" I called behind me as I ran to the end of our road.

The bus pulled up three minutes later. I climbed on, introducing myself to the driver and explaining my situation quickly. I found an empty seat and sat down.

The bus ride was uneventful to say the least. When we arrived, I was the last person off. I walked to the front office, and the lady looked up. She was fairly old, with grey hair and round glasses.

"Hi. I'm Percy Jackson, I'm supposed to start here today." I said, silently asking for the things I needed.

"Ah, yes. Principle Brunner said we'd be getting a new student today. I have the things you need right here." She stood up and shuffled to where a stack of papers were. She took the first few things off the top and came back over, holding them out to me.

"I hope you have a nice first day, young man." She said. I thanked her, then left. I found my locker, and began unloading all the heavy books and such. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned.

Three girls stood in front of me, and behind them were three guys looking socially awkward.

I looked at the one who tapped me.

"Hi! You're new here, right?" She asked, but, not waiting for my reply, continued on. "I'm Piper, and these guys are Jason, Nico, Grover, Hazel, and Bianca." She pointed to each person in turn. The girls waved slightly, and the guys nodded.

"Uh, hi?" I said, thoroughly confused. "I'm Percy." I said, regaining a little bit more sense. Piper opened her mouth to start talking again, but Jason covered her mouth.

"Sorry. We don't get a lot of new kids around here." He explained, Piper nodding enthusiastically beside him.

"It's fine. So, uh, any of you know where the Science room is?" I asked, looking down at my schedule.

Bianca nodded. "I'll show you. I have Science first today as well."

I nodded thankfully. "Thanks."

The rest of the school day was boring. I got to know Jason, Nico, and Grover a bit better. Turns out that Jason was Piper's boyfriend, and Bianca and Hazel were Nico's sisters.

I also found out that Grover had a weird appetite and Nico liked creepy things.

I reflected on that a bit as I walked down the road to our neighbors house. I knocked on the door, and waited.

An elderly woman answered the door.

"Why, Hello! You must be our new neighbor!" She said, smiling. She reminded me a bit of my mom. Warm and friendly. I nodded.

"I'm Percy Jackson, ma'am." I said, shaking her hand.

"Well, you must come in Percy. I'm Mrs. Chase." She said, leading me into her house. I felt a bit nervous walking into a strangers house, but I ignored it. My mom said I had to introduce myself and I was not going to be rude. Besides, Mrs. Chase seemed like a sweet old lady.

"Sit, sit! Tell me about yourself. What brings you here, to Decatur?" She said, hurrying into what appeared to be the kitchen and coming back out with a plate of cookies.

"Well, I, uh, grew up in New York, so this is different. My mom, Sally, grew up in Alabama though, and she thought it would be a good experience to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. So we packed up and we moved out here." I said, shrugging slightly, like it was no big deal. Which it really wasn't. Not when I had everything I needed. My mom, and her cooking.

Mrs. Chase nodded, smiling.

"Well, I hope to meet your mother soon. It would be nice to have someone around during the day. Take these to her, will you?" Mrs. Chase said, holding out the plate of cookies. I nodded, standing up and taking the plate.

"Thank you, Mrs. Chase. If you need anything, I'd be happy to help." I said, meaning every word. She smiled kindly.

"Thank you, deary. Have a nice rest of the day." She called, as I walked back home.

When I walked into the house, I was greeted by the sound food being cooked. "I'm home, mom!" I called. Taking off my shoes and setting my backpack down, I walked into the kitchen. I set the cookies down and hugged my mom.

"Hello, Percy. How was our neighbor?" She asked, turning back to the cooking.

"I liked her. She said she would like to meet you, and she gave us cookies." I said, already taking one and biting into it.

My mom just laughed and shook her head.

Ah, the joys of having a mom as great as mine.

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><p><strong>Sorry it's short. Review please!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Sorry for not writing for forever. I finally decided that I was going to finish this chapter today and was completely motivated and look! Here it is! **

**Percy: *sigh* You should really stop leaving people on edge forever.**

**Me: *glares* Shush, Percy. **

***turns to the reader* I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any of the characters.**

**ENJOY!**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

I sprinted out the door. "BYE MOM! LOVE YOU!" I yelled behind me, not stopping for a moment.

"Great, second day and I'm already running late." I muttered to myself. I was lucky though. I caught reached the bus stop just as it pulled to a stop. I climbed in and took a seat near the front.

When we reached the school I rushed to my locker, only to crash into someone.

"Watch where you're going." They snapped.

"Sorry, sorry." I muttered, grabbing their books off the floor and handing them to her. She snatched them from my hands and walked away, not even offering a 'Thanks'.

I huffed, standing up and hurrying to my locker, careful not to crash into anyone else.

I stuffed the backpack into the tiny space and grabbed my books for first period, which just so happened to be english, my worst subject.

However, I rushed through the halls, determined to make it to class on time. I sat in the very back of the room, trying to avoid attention. I noticed that there was a girl already here, her nose in a book. I recognized her instantly as the girl I'd run into before.

I stared into space as the classroom began filling in with other students. The class started and I vaguely listened, bored with the subject already.

However, I did notice that the girl was being carefully avoided by the rest of the students. How I figured it out? There was literally a circle of desks around her that _no_ _one_ sat in, it was pretty obvious.

The bell rang and I stood up, leaving as quickly as I could. I hated English and I wasn't going to stay in that classroom any longer than I had to.

I rushed to History(my second worst subject), and noticed that the girl was sitting, once again, by herself.

I stared at her wondering why she didn't have anyone to sit next to, but turned my attention back to the teacher when she walked through the door.

As the day progressed, I noticed that the girl was in all of my classes, and every time she would sit alone. At lunch, I'd even caught her sitting in the corner alone.

I sighed, my thoughts wandering to possible reasons as to why she would possibly be all alone in a school full of people. None of the possibilities seemed to make any sense. For example, one was: _Maybe she's an alien and she doesn't want anyone to find out._

Everything after that seemed to get even more and more weird.

I shook the thoughts from my head as I came to the bright red door, unlocking it and stepping into a house that smelled so strongly of chocolate chip cookies that I could practically taste them already. I shut the door, locking it back, and hurried to the kitchen where my mom was just setting out a pan of cookies to cool.

"Hello, sweetheart! How was school?" My mom asked, sliding off her oven mitts.

"Okay." I said, distractedly as I tried to catch a glimpse of the heavenly cookies over my mom's shoulder. "Can I have a cookie?"

My mom laughed and shook her head in amusement, and I smiled. "After dinner, sweatheart. You should take some to Mrs. Chase. I'm sure she'd enjoy it immensely and then I can keep you out of the house while I make dinner." She said, and I nodded, taking the plate of cookies that my mom gave me. I immediately noticed that they were blue. I grinned happily and quickly set off for Mrs. Chase's house.

I knocked on the old lady's door and she immediately answered. "Ah! Percy, dear! Come in, come in! This is quite fortunate." Mrs. Chase said, practically dragging me into the house this time. The old lady walked over to the staircase. "ANNIE!" She called, but she got no response.

"Mrs. Chase, my mother sent cookies for you." I said, holding out the cooling plate of blue cookies when I figured that her granddaughter wasn't going to come down.

"Goodness! Are they blue?" She exclaimed, an amused grin on her face as she took them. "How creative!" She said, taking them into the kitchen, before coming back out and sitting down on the couch.

"Why not stay awhile deary?" She said, and I sadly shook my head.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Chase. My mom's making dinner and I really should be getting back." I said, feeling guilty. Mrs. Chase shook her head and smiled.

"Well then. You take care of your mother, you hear sonny. And maybe next time I'll introduce you to dear Annie." She said, ever the cheerful woman.

I nodded and waved to her as I ran down the dirt road to my own house, where I was met with food. Ah... I loved my mother.

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><p>The next day, I wasn't late for school. Instead, I was almost early. Everyone walked at an easy pace, not in too much of a rush to get to class. I walked into my own classroom and noticed the blond girl sitting in a chair by herself. Me, being my curious self, sat two seats away from her. Unwilling to invade her personal space(which she seemed to have a lot of), but still unable to skip out on the temptation of knowing who she was. I mean, she was sure to have someone desperately in love with her somewhere.<p>

I looked away from her, as class started, but kept glancing at her through the corner of my eye.

The next class, and the class after that and every other class that I had with her(which was all of them) I sat exactly one seat away from her. At lunch, when I noticed her sitting in the corner alone, I walked over and sat down next to her. Instantly we were surrounded by my own friends, all of which ignored her.

I didn't say anything to her either, but it was obvious that she didn't like the attention we were drawing to her poor table.

I sighed once again as I walked home, only to be stopped by someone calling my name.

"Percy, dear!" Mrs. Chase said from her porch. I walked over to her.

"Good evening, Mrs. Chase. How are you today?" I asked politely, sitting down in the rocking chair beside her.

"Something appeared to be on your mind. Want to talk about it?" She asked, her kindly old eyes soft. I thought about it for a minute.

"Why does your granddaughter live with you Mrs. Chase?" I asked, feeling a bit ashamed to be asking such a personal question, but Mrs. Chase didn't seem to mind. Instead she smiled at the question.

"Well, my son was such a nice young boy, you know. He was always playing with the other children. I remember this one time.." Mrs. Chase began telling stories about her son. I listened intently, not wanting to bring up the fact that this had nothing to do with my question, and quite frankly, it was the most interesting thing ever.

I listened to her stories until the sun began to set and my mom came wandering down the street. I smiled and closed my eyes, imagining Mrs. Chase's son. How wonderful were the stories of old.

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><p><strong>Me: AGAIN, I'm seriously sorry for not updating more often(even though this is only the third chapter...) But! Review.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Hello, everyone! Chapter 4 is finished. (And so short it made me wanna cry. I was hoping to make it to at ****_least_**** two and a half pages on the document, but it decided that it couldn't be longer than one and three quarter pages.) **

**Percy: She was beginning to go crazy trying to make it even two pages. But Annabeth was able to convince her to publish it as a thanks to everyone who followed/favorited the story.**

**Me: *forgets about how long the chapter is for about three minutes* I'm so happy people like it enough to keep reading... *eyes tear up in joy* **

**Annabeth: *hits Percy upside the head* You sat there and watched her struggle to add ****_anything_**** to this. She works very hard, Perseus Jackson. Be nice to her, since she doesn't own us as her characters. *pats me on the head* You did a good job, Melon-Lemon-Peach.**

**Me: *sigh* Well. Time to actually let you read the chapter... **

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

I stared down at my Eggo waffle. Mom was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching me pick at the soggy thing.

"What did the poor waffle do this time, Percy?" She asked, and I looked up at her.

"I keep wondering about this girl who has the same schedule of me. She doesn't look like she has any friends." I said, and my mom smiled softly.

"Well then. You just have to be her friend in place of all those others." She said, and I nodded standing up.

"I will. Thanks mom!"

Problem with becoming her friend? I didn't know anything about this girl. So while I followed her around, trying to come up with something to get her talking, she appeared to becoming more and more annoyed.

Finally, at lunch, she cracked as I sat down next to her. Unlike yesterday, none of my friends sat down at the table with me. I didn't mind however.

"What do you want." She said, glaring at me.

I looked at her in surprise. "To be your friend?" I said, although it came out more like a question. She scoffed, and got up, leaving without so much as a glance back. Almost instantly, I was once again swarmed by my friends.

Most of them were throwing questions at me, but I was staring at the door. Wondering just who this chick was.

I blinked when Nico snapped under my nose, making it itch. "Percy Jackson! Oi!" He said, and I looked at him.

"What?" I asked, thoroughly confused. They all sighed.

"What are you doing talking to Ms. _Geeky-Nerd-Girl_?" Jason said, and I stared at him.

"Who?" I said, completely lost. What were they talking about, 'Geeky-Nerd-Girl'?

"The blond!" Grover said, and I light-bulbed.

"Oh! Her? She looked like she didn't have any friends, so I decided I would be one." I said, staring at them blankly.

They all looked shocked, like they couldn't believe I would do that. I was lost.

"Dude! You are ruining your reputation. She's the only person that Dare hates." Jason said, leaning over the table to talk in a hushed tone.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to remember the face with the name Dare. It popped into my mind a minute later and I shrugged.

"Does it really matter?" I said, staring up at all shifted nervously.

"Have you even met this "_Geeky-Nerdy-Chick"_?" I asked, air-quoting their name for the blond.

They all looked away from me, and I stood up.

"I'm heading to class." I said, before throwing out the rest of my food and walking quickly to my next class. When I got there, the girl was nowhere to be seen, but I sat in the back, near a window.

I sighed as I walked into the house. My mother wasn't in the kitchen, and so I figured that she was over at Mrs. Chase's house. Probably listening to some old stories. I slipped off my tennis shoes and walked up the stairs, to begin working on my homework. It was harder than it seemed and I was easily annoyed when my mind wandered instead to what my friends were talking about at lunch. I mean, what could the girl possibly have done to deserve the unrelenting loneliness of having no friends.

I scratched my head and stared down at the problem before me. I huffed and decided instead that I would take a walk.

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and looked around at the old houses along the street. Subconsciously, I began to name the neighbors that lived in each one and thinking about what they looked like. When I reached Mrs. Chase's house, I stopped.

My mind wandered to her mysterious granddaughter, who I never seemed to be able to meet. I tried to imagine her, but it was nearly impossible.

Every time I tried, she ended up looking something like an old hag. It was extremely disturbing.

The door opened and I looked up.

My mom and Mrs. Chase were standing at the door. "Thank you so much! It was nice meeting you Annie, dear! I hope to see you again soon." My mom called, waving and shutting the door behind her. I tried to catch a glimpse of the mysterious Annie, but she wasn't visible.

My mom shut the door and turned around, her eyes shocked when she found me standing in front of the house.

"Is everything alright, Percy?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I couldn't concentrate on math, so I thought I'd take a walk." I said, shrugging. My mom looked relieved.

"Well, how about we head home together." She said, linking her arm with mine. My mother was shorter than I was, but she was strong. Seriously. She dragged me by the arm all the way to the house.

"I was thinking about having breakfast for dinner. How does that sound, sweetheart?" She said, looking back at me.

"Delicious, mom." I said, my arm aching. She smiled and we finally reached the house and I was given my arm back.

I rubbed the muscle and sat down at the counter. My mom began cooking, throwing in blue food coloring at the most random times and making it all blue.

I sighed and dug in as she laid a plate in front of me.

"So how did it go with the girl today?" She asked, and my mind blanked except for her annoyed face.

"I think she thought I was lying when I said I wanted to be her friend." I said, looking up at my mom innocently.

My mom laughed in amusement. "Why do I feel like you might have annoyed her first?"

I smiled innocently. "Why would I do that, Mom?" I said. "I couoldn't possibly annoy anyone!"

My mom burst into laughter, shaking her head. I couldn't help but grin.

"Try again tomorrow, sweetheart. And don't annoy her like you did today. I'm sure she didn't like the added attention to her if she's as alone as you tell me she is."

I nodded.

"Tomorrow." I said.

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><p><strong>Me: Well... I promise that Chapter 5 will be longer... And if you guys REVIEW(! at least one...) I'll post chapter 5... Unless someone reviews faster than I can type Chapter 5... Then I'll upload the moment I finish... REVIEW PLEASE!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: *breathes a sigh of relief* You guys are fast. It makes me very happy to say, I got 3 reviews for Chapter 4! **

**Percy: *sigh* She was almost into tears over it. **

**Me: Shush, Percy. Anyways! As for some of the reviews, YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE!**

**Percy:*sighs again* She doesn't own us.**

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

The next morning was brighter, if that was even possible. I woke up feeling like I was going to get somewhere today with the mysterious girl that everyone avoided.

I went downstairs and got breakfast before leaving for school. "BYE MOM!" I yelled into the house.

When I reached the school, I hurried to my locker and practically stuffed everything in, before rushing to my first class.

Everyone around me took their sweet time, but truthfully, I just wanted to talk to the girl. And since I knew she would already be there, I was rushing to the classroom.

She was sitting in the corner, her nose tucked into a book. I stood in front of her desk, trying to read the cover. _The Taming of the Shrew_. Shakespeare.

I stared at it for a moment, before deciding that I wasn't going to ask. I sat down next to her, and she gripped her book. I didn't say anything and instead pretended like I hadn't noticed.

The bell rang, and I pulled out my language arts notes. I didn't pay attention as the teacher droned on in her boring voice. I hated language arts. All the writing and papers and reading. It never really interested me.

I sighed in relief as the bell rang and I followed the girl to math. Math was the same, as was History. Then was lunch. I sat with her, but she didn't say anything.

My friends kept glancing over at me and I sighed. When the girl had left, they all attacked me at once.

"DUDE!" Nico practically yelled. I stared at him as he took my shoulders and shook me. Hard.

"Why did you not take our warnings at all?!"

I stared at them.

"I don't get it. Why are you guys so against me being someone's friend?" I asked and Piper looked around in discomfort.

"We're not against you being _someone's else's friend_, necessarily." She said, avoiding the topic like it was the plague. I felt annoyed and glared at them. They were telling me to do something without knowing the reason why.

"Okay, fine. Why are you guys so against me being _her_ friend?" I said. Nico was the one to answer this time.

"We don't want you to end up like she did." He said, softly. I stared at him, but he wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Why did she end up alone?" I asked, not as angry now. Hazel shifted in her seat and Bianca sighed.

"Annabeth was new to the entire community four years ago. Her dad was dead and her mom and step-mom didn't want anything to do with her. So she moved here. She wasn't kind-hearted to anybody. The only person she ever really talked to was Thalia." She explained.

"But then, I suppose things started getting harder for her. Her older brother was going to go live with their mom and she was going to be left alone. I can imagine that she just couldn't really deal with it. But one day, she just exploded at Thalia. Rachel, one of the cheerleaders was trying to break up the fight, but Annabeth just directed her fury at Rachel. She threw a book and it hit Rachel in the head. _Hard_. It was enough to knock Rachel out." Jason said.

"After that. Well, everyone was sort of worried that she would take out her anger on _them_. When Rachel came back from the hospital, she said she didn't hold anything against Annabeth. But later, her friends were telling everyone that Rachel wanted us to stop talking to Annabeth, or we'd be a traitor to Rachel and she'd send the football team against us." Nico said.

"And so, naturally, we did like they said." Piper said, and they all looked down, refusing to make eye contact.

"So why isn't Thalia still her friend? I'd think that if she was really a friend, then she wouldn't care about a football team..." I began, but Hazel shook her head.

"Thalia's stopped talking to Annabeth too. They're never in the same room together." She said.

I stared at her in confusion, before realizing what she had just said. I sighed before smiling.

"Well then! I guess I'll have to be her friend then!" I said, before standing up and walking out of the cafeteria to the next class.

I sat next to Annabeth for the last 4 classes. She didn't acknowledge me at all, but I was alright with that. Now that I knew the backstory, I figured she wouldn't be used to someone who followed her around all the time.

When the day ended, I sighed in relief and grabbed my stuff from my locker.

It was a coincidence, but I ended up following Annabeth through town. She was tense and kept glancing back at me, her grey eyes flashing.

She stopped and spun around to face me and I almost ran into her. I looked at her in surprise.

"Why are you following me?!" She exclaimed and I looked down at her in amusement.

"I'm actually not following you. My house just so happens to be the same way you're going." I said, smirking.

Her face turned an unhealthy shade between purple and a deep shade of red.

"Do you not have any other way to go?!" She exclaimed. I shook my head, before shrugging.

"Keep in mind that I haven't been here as long as you have. I might have a back road that I don't know of." I said and she got flustered again.

"I'm leaving." She said, before walking quickly away. I ran to catch up to her.

"Stop following me." She said, when I began walking next to her. I smirked.

"Ahh... But I'm curious now! Where does little miss Annabeth go after school." I said, as she sped up. I kept pace with her.

She tried to duck into a nearby store, but I grabbed her arm, before looking up at the sign.

"Dominos? Really?" I asked, my eyebrow raised in amusement. I shrugged, letting her go and stepping away.

She pulled out a book, and I caught a glance at the spine, noticing that it had a library sticker. She looked like she would really throw it before her eyes widened slightly and she lowered it.

"I would throw this at you, but it's a library book and I don't plan on paying for it." She said, glaring at me and dusting the book off.

She walked past me. "Where are you going now?" I asked, walking next to her.

"The bookstore. Now stop following me." She said. I shrugged.

"Can't. This is the way to my house." I said, and she glared at me.

I followed her all the way to the bookstore, where she spun around and almost smacked me with her finger.

"Why are you always following me?!" She said. I stared at her for a moment.

"Because I want to be your friend." I said.

She looked shocked for a moment, before regaining her composure.

"Well, you aren't going to be my friend if you keep acting like a lost puppy and following me around." She said, and I smirked.

"I dunno. Maybe I will." I said and she glared at me. "I could just follow you around the entire semester like some stalker, or you could be my friend." I said, realizing that I was practically forcing her to become my friend, even if she didn't want me to be.

She stared at me for awhile.  
>"How about if I make you a deal?" She said, and I looked at her in surprise.<p>

"What's the deal?" I asked and she looked me in the eyes.

"You stop following me around and I'll tell you _ONE_ piece of information about me each day at lunch." She said. I looked at her for awhile.

"You do realize that we have the same schedule, right." I said, deadpanning.

She glared at me. "I've noticed. But you always decide to sit next to me. Sit somewhere else and it won't be considered following." She said. I sighed.

"Fine. You've got a deal, Miss Annabeth."

She glared at me. "What's your name." She demanded after a moment.

"Percy Jackson." I said. "At your service." I bowed and she turned a bright red color. I smirked.

"Well, Jackson, go home and stop following me." She said, before ducking into the bookstore.

I smiled slightly.

I walked home and found my mom in the kitchen. "Ah! Percy! I'm glad your home! You're dinner is in the microwave!" She said.

"Where are you going?" I asked, confused. My mom smiled brightly.

"I got a job offer!" She said, happily, and I couldn't help but smile back. She ran out the door.

"Don't forget to do your homework! I'll be back before 10!" She called. "I LOVE YOU!" I laughed.

"I LOVE YOU TOO!" I yelled back.

"I'LL SEE YOU WHEN I GET BACK!" She yelled.

"GOODBYE MOM!" I yelled back, shutting the door. Looks like I had the time to do what I wanted.

I started with eating the prepared dinner and then taking a shower.

I thought about what Annabeth had said. It was a chance to at least _know _her, even if I wasn't technically her friend yet. It made me feel better knowing that at least she was talking to me.

I smiled slightly as I did my math homework, looking forwards to tomorrow.

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><p><strong>Me: I can't believe this is the second chapter I'm posting today. Sorry it took so long for me to finish it! Hope you liked it though! REVIEW and I'll post Chapter 6 sometime next week.(Probably not the day I get any reviews like this time... Sorry!)<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: Hello, again! Chapter 6 is here. I suppose you have Percy to thank for that. He hovered over my shoulder whispering **_**Write Dare to Love**_ **for about ten minutes before I started writing. I think he was eager to get the blue cookies**_**. **_

**Percy: I did no such thing!**

**Annabeth: Yes he did. He also tried write the chapter himself.**

**Me: It has been deleted forever and shall never see the light of day. **

**Percy: *pout***

**Me: *sigh* Anyways! Since one of my reviewers was so very eager for me to finish this chapter- I don't own PJATO, but ENJOY!**

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><p>Chapter 6<p>

I walked into class promptly as the one-minute bell rang and sat down next to Jason, who just so happened to be in my first three classes, which I was slightly glad about seeing as I was supposed to be "avoiding" Annabeth, or she wouldn't tell me anything.

I sighed and glanced back at her, as she put her book away.

"Not going to sit with Annabeth today?" Jason asked, leaning over to whisper. I shrugged.

"I think I'll sit with her at lunch, but other than that, nah." I said, leaning back in my chair as the teacher walked in.

She sighed when she saw that I had, _yet again_, changed seats. She shook her head and smiled in amusement, before marking it down that I had moved.

"No more switching seats, Mr. Jackson." She said, giving me a look that said if I changed seats again, she would have my head.

I nodded respectfully. "Wasn't planning on it, Mrs. Williams."

She nodded and began teaching the class.

The class went much slower than I'd figured it was, and I was thankful when the bell rung. I walked with Jason to our next class.

"Hey, Perce. Did you understand the Science homework that Mr. Quill gave out?" Jason asked.

I nodded and he took it out as we sat down. I looked it over and nodded.

"They all look right." I said, comparing the answers to my own. "If I got anything wrong, then so did you. I would ask Piper, just to be sure though." I said, and Jason nodded, putting it back and getting out his math supplies.

I did the same.

Math and History went faster than Language Arts, but all the same, when the lunch bell rang, I was a bit _too_ eager to get out of the classroom.

I found Annabeth sitting at a picnic table, looking down at her book and absentmindedly putting food into her mouth. The wind blew and threw her hair into a mass of curls.

I could hear her curse from where I stood and laughed slightly, before walking over to her.

"So, Ms. Annabeth. What do you plan on telling me today?" I asked, and she scowled at me.

I took out my sandwich and began eating.

Annabeth was silent for almost the entire lunch, looking down at her book and I didn't push her to tell me anything. She knew what the deal was and I knew she would tell me at one point before the break ended.

Just as we began to walk back to our class, I was beginning to worry if she had backed out.

"Architecture." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"What?" I asked, not understanding. She glared up at me, but it was hardly effective due to the dark red that her face was turning.

"I like architecture." She said, before storming into the classroom and plopping into her seat.

I smiled, and walked into the classroom behind her, taking my seat on the opposite side of the room.

All throughout class, I couldn't stop smiling. I'd finally made some progress with the girl that no one liked.

After all, I'm sure that not many people knew that she liked _architecture_ of all things.

I wondered vaguely if she had sketched any buildings, and if she had, if she would let me see them.

"Mr. Jackson, since you seem in such a cheerful mood today, put away the equipment." Coach Hedge yelled. **(I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. ;D)**

I looked up at him, before shaking my head.

"No problem, Coach." I said, before leaning against the wall, balancing the equipment that people dumped on me.

Nico ran over.

"Dude, let us help. It'll be the least we can do since you're already going to end up the target of the football team." He said, calling Jason and Grover over.

I glared at him.

"I'm not going to end up victimized like all of you guys think I will. Besides, I don't see anyone else doing anything about me trying to be someone else's friend." I retorted, and Jason rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, Perce." Grover said, taking a quarter of my load.

I sighed. There was no getting through to these guys. I shrugged to myself. _I guess I'll just have to be a good friend, now won't I._ I thought to myself, before setting the equipment in their designated spot in the storage room.

I sighed again and fistbumped Grover, before we left.

"Hey, Perce. Maybe you should join a sports team." Grover said. "I'm sure you could make at least the swim team."

I stared at them, before bursting out laughing.

They all stared at me like I was insane, but I waved them off. "I was part of the swim team in my old school. I guess you're psychic Grover." I said.

Nico and Jason burst into laughter at this and Grover rolled his eyes, before smiling.

"Oh yes. I've been psychic most of my life." He said sarcastically. "Can't you see it being my career in life? Imagine! Me! Standing in a mystic old shop that sold old pirates treasures that were cursed and telling plants my fortunes for the future!" He said, dramatically.

I couldn't help but laugh harder at this.

"Shut up." He said, hitting me and Jason upside the head. Nico had stopped laughing by then, but it was getting harder and harder to keep a straight face.

"Ah, come on, Grover. Don't let my fun get to you." I said, slinging my arm over his shoulder. Grover rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Look, I've gotta go meet up with my girlfriend soon. See you later!"

He ran off. Jason and Nico said their own farewells and I was left with going home to see if mom was at work or not.

She'd told me this morning that the interview had gone well, and that she was expecting a call before I got home if she got the job.

And therefore, I was almost glad that my mom wasn't home when I got there. She'd left a note that said she'd gotten the job and that she would be back soon and that she loved me.

I sighed and smiled before heading over to Mrs. Chase's house. I knocked and held out the plate of cookies that my mom had entrusted me to deliver. (If I didn't deliver them, then she would definitely find out)

Mrs. Chase opened the door and smiled at me. "Percy, dear. I'm sorry to be sending you on an errand at this time of day, but I really do need some milk from the store and Annie's not home yet. Will you go get me some?" She asked, and I nodded. She handed me the cash and I was shooed off her porch.

I sighed and walked to the convenience store down the street(which was rather surprising since we lived next to some _huge_ fields and it wasn't everyday that you had a store so close by.

I walked in and wandered around for awhile, looking for the milk.

I suppose I wasn't looking where I was going, but I, of course, was hit in the stomach with a cart.

"Ow." I grunted.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Are you hurt?! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention... Jackson?" The girl said, and I looked up to see Annabeth standing in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her eyes holding a suspicious gleam. I put my hands up in defense.

"I wasn't following you. Swear. One of my neighbors asked me to go buy them some milk and I just so happen to not know where the milk is." I said.

She stared at me, like she didn't believe me, but pointed in the direction.

"Milk is that way." She said. "Goodbye."

I watched as she walked away hurriedly and sighed, before going to buy the milk. It took me another 10 minutes to find the milk and buy it and then I had to walk home.

By the time I'd reached Mrs. Chase's house, I was ready to go home and sleep for the rest of eternity.

Mrs. Chase opened the door and gave me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Percy. My granddaughter apparently took it upon herself to buy us milk before she came home. Why don't you just take that home?" She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"Good night, Mrs. Chase." I said, before walking home and putting the milk in the freezer and going upstairs to do my homework and go to sleep.

Boy could I not wait for tomorrow to come.

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><p><strong>Me: Review and I'll update! Also. No more giving Percy blue cookies. I'll throw him into a closet.<strong>

**Percy: Thats mean. ~**

**Me: *sigh***


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: Gotta love reviews right?**

**Percy: It took about 9 reviews for you to post the chapter.**

**Me: It's a weird chapter Percy. I feel like you act completely oblivious to all of your surroundings. It's stupid. (I might have to redo this chapter. It's too awkward in my opinion)**

**Annabeth: Ahem.**

**Me: OH! Right. Soooo... I was thinking about Annabeth awhile ago and I was wondering what everyone thought about me giving her the next chapter... Tell me in a review please!**

**Oh! And, I got some awesome reviews, but I was going to reply to the last one with a wonderful story idea that I cannot use in **_**this particular story.**_ **Smiles Burn In The Styx; I love your idea(and I'll be sure to use it eventually). I'm truly sorry to not be able to use it in this particular story, because... well, you'll see soon. Anyways. I'm very sorry for that, and for not updating soon enough, but I DON'T OWN PJATO! **

**Enjoy! **

**Annabeth: *sigh***

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><p>Chapter 7<p>

I stared at the clock on the bedside table.

"November 28th huh..." I muttered to myself, feeling slightly down. Already it had been 4 months since the beginning of the school year, and only three days had passed since I'd decided to become Annabeth's friends.

I sighed and got up. The morning went by without much happening and I had trouble concentrating through the fogginess of my mind.

I walked all the way to school in what felt like a minute and I looked around, almost confused.

"How did I get here so fast?" I muttered to myself.

"I dunno, you flew?" Grover said from beside me and I looked over at him.

"Hi." I said and Grover sighed.

"I'm going to assume that you didn't sleep well last night and need coffee so here." He said, holding out a cup and I chugged down the entire thing.

"Sorry, dude." I said, wide awake now.

"No problemo. Get to class dude or you'll be late." He said and I nodded, jogging to my locker.

When I reached the classroom, my eyes went to the back, where Annabeth was sitting. My mind went back to yesterday when I had run into her cart at the store, and hurriedly sat down in my seat next to Jason.

Everything went by in a blur and I could barely remember what happened(luckily, I'd taken notes or I wouldn't have made it through the semester.) At lunch, I sat down at an isolated table and began eating absentmindedly.

I didn't notice when Annabeth sat down next to me, which was weird. She then proceeded to blow a blast of cold air into my ear.

I jerk at the weird feeling, chills going down my spine.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" I yelped, glaring. I then proceeded to realize that it was Annabeth, and calmed down slightly.

"I couldn't get you attention like a normal person. So I blew into your ear. You have weird reactions." She stated, her eyes blank.

I stared at her, waiting for her to start whatever she wanted to say. She was silent for awhile, before sighing.

"Alrighty then." She muttered, turning to face me.

"My dad died when I was 9. He was in the military until I was born and was suddenly called out to help with some mission or whatever. I don't think he wanted to leave, but he had to. The military is VERY strict about those things.

So he left me with my grandmother, and never came back." She said, before standing up stiffly.

"I'm going to class." She said.

I felt like I had done something wrong, and frowned at her retreating figure. It was depressing. I sighed and got up, heading to class after her.

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><p>The rest of the day was full of boredom and a dazed perspective. I didn't speak to Annabeth about what she had told me at lunch, and she didn't approach me to say anything either.<p>

I sighed and walked out of the school, thinking about taking the long way home and buying some candy or something.

I suppose I was lucky to have done so, because I by the time I'd decided to head home, I found Annabeth surrounded in a dark alley beside the bookstore that just so happened to be on the way home. I stood in the shadows, watching for a minute.

I couldn't just rush in and save her whenever she didn't need it. She would hang me for it. Literally.

Anyways. She clutched something to her chest, defending herself from the prying hands of one of the men.

"Stop." She demanded. "Leave me alone."

But the guys were blockheads, and thought she was a weakling.

I watched as one pinned her to the wall, trailing kisses along her pale skin. It was what snapped.

I stepped out of the shadows. I grabbed the guys shirt and dragged him off of her, standing so that I was between the men and Annabeth.

"Oh, so this princess has a knight! How... _quere._" He said, practically begging to be punched in the face. I didn't move, figuring that if I did, they would use it to get behind me.

"Move out of the way, princy." He said, standing up to me. He was generally taller than I was, but I glared at him.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with guys like this today.

"Make me." I growled.

"Percy." Annabeth said behind me, her voice soft. I looked over my shoulder to her, smirking.

"When I say, run. Run like all hell's broken loose, 'kay?" I whispered and she smiled slightly, nodding.

"Good." I turned back to glare at the guy. I balled my fists and punched the guy hard enough to possibly do more damage than just dislocate his jaw.

"GO!" I yelled and we took off down the streets.

I heard the guys yelling behind us, and I laughed.

Annabeth didn't find it as amusing, and glanced behind us.

"Percy, they're gaining on us." She yelped, and I looked at her. I took her hand and pulled her into a random store.

I grabbed a hat and a pair glasses, before paying for them and put a hat and the glasses on Annabeth, laughing in amusement. She scowled up at me instead, and took the hat off, instead taking a Yankee's one from her backpack.

"One of the things my dad gave me." She said, quietly and putting it on her head.

I didn't say anything and after a minute she punched me in the arm. Hard.

"Ow." I said, pretending that it didn't really hurt. She glared at me.

"What were you doing when you s-found me." She demanded, giving me a hard look.

"Hm? Oh, I was going home." I said, pulling out the bag of candy that I'd bought. "I thought I'd go buy some candy. Want some?" I said, taking a bite out of some of my blue taffy and holding the bag out towards her.

"Why's it all blue?" She said, sticking her hand in to find something she might like.

"My ex-step-dad ridiculed my mom saying that food can't be blue, so my mom made a point of making everything blue. Now it's just a force of habit." I explained and we walked out the store, past the guys who had been trying to do things to Annabeth that they shouldn't have.

It was amazing what blue candy, glasses, and hats could do for you.

I walked with Annabeth, feeling a bit weirded out that we were going towards the EXACT neighborhood that I lived in.

She sighed when we came to Mrs. Chase's house. "Well. Have a good rest of your night then." She said, walking towards the house.

I stared as she walked in before shaking my head.

No way she could live there. She was probably only there to give her something from her grandmother. Grandmothers are like that.

I walked quickly towards my house, glancing back at the house every so often.

"Right?" I muttered to myself.

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><p><strong>REVIEW AND I SHALL DETERMINE IF I GIVE ANNABETH THE NEXT CHAPTER!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: Second chapter today! Wohoo! **

**Percy: Can I have blue cookies?**

**Annabeth: N-**

**Me: *sigh* Annabeth, we both know he isn't going to shut up until he get's his blue cookies. **

**Annabeth: *sigh***

**Percy: HEY!**

**Me: FOR EVERY REVIEW I GET I SHALL GIVE PERCY A BLUE COOKIE!  
>Annabeth: *stares* Why must I be here.<strong>

**Me: Because this is your chapter. **

**Annabeth: But you don't own me.**

**Me: You're right. But it's still your chapter.**

**Annabeth: You still don't own me or any other PJATO characters...**

**Me: sadly. **

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

"Wake up, Annie dear." Grandmama said, her voice soft. I groaned and rolled over. It was too cold to get up. Grandmama sighed and I was instantly suspicious of what would happen next. Before I could react, she took my blankets and threw them off of me. I curled into a tight ball, already freezing.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart!" She yelled through the house. "Get up Annie dear or you'll be late for school." She said and I sighed, allowing her to walk out the door before I got up and changed my clothes.

They weren't anything crazy. Just jeans and an old t-shirt that was so faded I couldn't tell what it had once said.

I stumbled down the stairs, trying to comb through my curls with my fingers so that it looked like I had brushed it and Grandmama would give me the delicious smelling pancakes that she cooked for breakfast only every so often.

It didn't work of course, but she let me off the hook.

"I'll give it to you this morning, only because you had such a rough night last night. But starting tomorrow, we're back to normal. Ya hear, Annie dear?" She said, waving around her spatula.

I stiffened. Last night. _Last night_. The night where I'd nearly been- I couldn't even think about it. And only to be saved by the most annoyingly persistent person in the universe.

_How could I possibly forget about that?!_ I began to panic. It would be awkward. So awkward that he would never talk to me again.

_WHY DID HE HAVE TO BE THERE!? _I gripped my hair and pulled, trying to relieve some of the crazy stress I was putting my being through.

I stared at the floor, suddenly not hungry at all.

"Grandmama?" I said, so quietly I wasn't sure she'd heard me at all.

"What is is, deary?" She asked, and I could tell she wasn't looking at me.

"Can I not go to school today?" I muttered, and everything became silent except for the soft sound that the pancakes made as they cooked.

"No one's being mean to ya again are they? Thalia's still defending ya, ain't she? And ya told me that ya'd made a new friend. Why would ya wanna skip school?" She said, instantly by my side.

I stared up at her and she sighed as if she suddenly understood.

"Ya think it'll be awkward don't cha." She said, setting a hand on my cheek. "But ya won't know till ya try."

I nodded and sat up. She was right. There wasn't any use in worrying about the future. I dug into her pancakes, before looking down at my watch. I looked again in shock.

"EEEKK! I've gotta hurry!" I squeaked, running through the house to finish getting ready.

Even so, I had to practically run to school. It wasn't fun.

Percy sat where he normally sat, and didn't look up when I walked in. It didn't help the abiding fear that he didn't respect me anymore and no longer wanted anything to do with me at all. _It was terrifying_. He had been the first person to _ever_ talk to me in the school since the incident.

Not that Thalia didn't try. She was a sucker for standing up to anybody she didn't like. _And she absolutely hated the football team. _

But as much as I enjoyed Thalia's presence, I could feel her social status going down the drain every time she even so much as opened her mouth to say anything nice to me. It left a horrible taste in my mouth.

So I'd asked her to stop, before walking away. She still kept good contact with me, don't worry, but it was never where someone from the school could see(so basically, emailing and texting). If she'd stopped completely, then I wasn't sure just how long I would've lasted in the silent wasteland that was my high school life.

Anyways, Percy didn't talk to me at all for the first three periods, and my nerves were about to explode. Next was lunch. And if he didn't show, then I'd basically lost someone who had been trying so hard to be my friend because of some idiot men.

I stood at my locker, thinking about sticking myself inside and hoping that no one found me, but then remembering that I would have to go home and wouldn't be able to open my locker and basically worry my grandmother. So I decided not to and hurried to the table that I normally occupied.

I looked around, noticing that Percy wasn't there yet and took a shaky breath. I sat down, pulling out my lunch and tearing small bites off.

Each bite felt like I was swallowing sandpaper. My crazy nerves were _that bad_.

And then he was sitting next to me. I felt my heart pound in relief. _He doesn't hate me_. I thought to myself.

He began eating and I felt words waiting to be told on the tip of my tongue. It wasn't just the one tiny fact that I had made a deal for, but my entire story.

"So." He said awkwardly and suddenly, the words could no longer stand to wait, and I began to tell my entire story.

I told him _everything. _Half the things I said, I'd hadn't even told _Thalia._That's how much I told him.

And at the end of it all, I sat there, trying to fill the insane silence with my own thoughts so that I wouldn't run away.

"I was born in New York." He said, and I looked up at him. He was staring off into the distance and I suddenly realized just how beautiful his eyes were as they shimmered in the cafeteria lights.

"I don't think my dad wanted us to live like we did, but when he went missing on a ship all those years ago, my mom didn't really see any other way out. She married this guy. The guy I told you about yesterday, that said that food couldn't be blue..." He didn't wait for an answer and kept talking, like he was trying to get something off his chest. He told me about his step-dad(which was no longer anywhere near him and his mom, thank you, or I would've gone and killed him, even if Percy hadn't) and about how he'd abused Percy's mom. It was terrible.

I nearly wanted to get up, find his old step-dad and beat him like my Grandmother's pancakes.

"And then I met you!" He said, smiling like an idiot. His eyes had changed to a greenish color. Like Seaweed.

"Seaweed Brain." I muttered, half to myself, as I stood up and began walking to class. All the same, I couldn't help but feel happy that he was still willing to chase after the stupid agreement that we'd made months ago.

I spent the rest of the day pretending like I had no idea who Percy was. It was amusing really, considering he kept passing me notes trying to convince me to tell him what I'd called him before I'd come back to class. But what he didn't know wouldn't kill him. Or at least for this particular thing anyways. Oh how wonderful could my life get this time.

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><p><strong>Me: REVIEW SO PERCY CAN HAVE A BUNCH OF BLUE COOKIES!<strong>

**Percy: I'M BEGGING YOU!**

**Annabeth: *sigh***


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